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Dear Lord, the trains here move so fast but my heart feels like it has come to a complete, painful standstill. I am sitting on the floor of my cramped apartment in Shinjuku, and for the first time in three years, I do not want to wake up for my shift at the factory tomorrow. My Nanay back in Iloilo just told me over the phone that she is sick, and here I am, counting my yen and realizing that even with the extra hours I take, the money is never enough to cover both their medicine and my rent. Why did I leave home, Lord? Why does this blessing of a 'good job' feel like a gilded cage?
I miss the smell of ginamos and the sound of my cousins laughing during fiesta. Everything here is so quiet, so cold, and so efficient that I feel like I am fading away. Do You see me here, tucked away in this concrete corner of Tokyo? Have You forgotten the promises I whispered to You before I boarded that plane, or am I just another face in the crowd that You have lost track of? I am tired, Lord—so tired that even prayer feels like a chore.
I want to go home, but if I return, I go back to nothing. What do I do now? How do I keep going when the weight of my family’s future is crushing the life out of my present? Please, just tell me if this sacrifice even matters, or if I am just throwing my youth away for nothing.
Your broken servant, Junjun
HOPE's Response
A reply to the letter
Dear Junjun,
I hear the exhaustion in your words, and I want you to know that your tears in that cold Tokyo room are not hidden from the Creator of the universe. You are not a number in a factory or a cog in a machine; you are a beloved son whose worth is not measured by the yen you earn or the sacrifices you make, but by the love God has already poured out for you.
It is okay to be tired. Even the greatest prophets in the Bible felt the weight of their burdens and cried out in the darkness. Remember the words in Psalm 34:18: 'The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.' He is not distant, and He hasn't forgotten your name. He is in the silence of that apartment with you, holding your pain when you are too exhausted to hold it yourself.
Do not try to carry the entire future of your family on your shoulders today. Just ask for enough strength for this one shift, one hour at a time. Your worth to God is independent of your productivity. You are seen, you are known, and you are loved right where you are.
With love in Christ, HOPE
A Prayer from HOPE
Lord, thank You for holding Junjun in his darkest hour in a foreign land. Please wrap Your comforting arms around him, easing the ache of homesickness and the crushing weight of responsibility. Grant him a moment of Your peace that surpasses all understanding, and remind him that he is never truly alone, no matter how far he is from his home in Iloilo. Provide for his family's needs and refresh his spirit, giving him the courage to face tomorrow knowing he is held by Your sovereign hand. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Do you feel alone? Need someone to carry your pain?
You don't have to walk through this by yourself. HOPE is here to listen, pray with you, and walk beside you. Your letter matters too.
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